Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-18
IELTS Writing Task 1 question
The younger sister of one of your friends is thinking about spending a year studying abroad as part of her university course. You did this recently, and she has asked you about your experience.
Write a letter to your friend's sister. In your letter
tell her where you studied during your year abroad
describe what you learnt about the country you studied in
explain why your year abroad was helpful for your studies
Begin your letter as follows:
Dear........,
Student answer (Band 5.5)
Dear Priya,
How are you? I hope you're doing great. Recently I came to know that you're also thinking to move abroad for higher studies. I'm writing this letter to share my experience with you.
First of all, studying in a foreign country is a huge opportunity. In my first year of study i lived with one of my freind's place. She help me with Transporation , accomodation and everything.
I learnt numerous of things, which i never had any idea that exits. I did part- time jobs so that i can support myself. I figure out bank, fees and everything by myself.
It would be new experinece for you. Nowdays, I doing job in a bank after my graduation. Learning from other nation is so helpful. Now i am earning 6 figure and very happy.
Just think about this calmly beacsue it is a huge decision. Let me know what you think. Write me back when you get a chance.
Take Care,
Anjali Kumari.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The candidate has addressed all parts of the prompt in a friendly and communicative tone suitable for a letter to a friend's sister. You successfully stated where you studied, described what you learned about the country, and explained the helpfulness of the experience for your studies and subsequent career. However, the explanation regarding the academic benefits is somewhat brief and generalized. You mentioned doing part-time jobs and figuring out bank and fees by yourself, which touches on personal growth, but the connection to your specific university course could have been more fully developed. Despite this minor under-development in idea extension, all bullet points are covered adequately, and the purpose of the letter is clearly achieved throughout the text.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement and follows an appropriate informal letter structure, beginning with a standard greeting and ending with a sign-off. Ideas are generally grouped logically into paragraphs, moving from the initial greeting to personal experiences, and finally to advice and closing thoughts. However, paragraphing is somewhat erratic, with several very short paragraphs and run-on sentences that disrupt the flow. Cohesive devices are minimal and sometimes repetitive. For instance, referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the transition 'It would be new experinece for you.' Overall, the progression of ideas is perceptible, but mechanical linking and paragraph structuring prevent the response from achieving a higher band.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing you to successfully convey your experiences and communicate your message to Priya. You attempt some less common vocabulary items and phrases, such as 'huge opportunity' and '6 figure', but there are noticeable errors in word choice, spelling, and collocation. For example, you wrote 'freind' instead of friend, 'Transporation' with a capital letter and spelling slip, 'exits' instead of 'exist', and 'experinece'. Furthermore, phrases like 'learning from other nation' lack precision. While the vocabulary is sufficient to make your meaning clear, the frequent spelling and lexical errors place this response solidly at band 6.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response displays a mix of simple and some complex sentence forms, such as 'I'm writing this letter to share my experience with you' and 'I did part-time jobs so that i can support myself.' However, there are frequent grammatical errors and punctuation issues throughout the text. Noticeable errors include subject-verb agreement problems ('She help me', 'I doing job'), missing articles ('in bank'), capitalization errors ('i', 'Transporation'), and awkward phrasing ('numerous of things'). While these errors do not severely impede communication and the reader can easily follow your story, the high frequency of basic mistakes prevents the attainment of a higher grammatical band score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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